Lavalette established the independent photographic imprint Lavalette in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2009, and the journal Lay Flat.[7] In 2011, Lavalette was hired as the associate director of Light Work, a non-profit photography organization in Syracuse, New York. He was appointed director two years later, in 2013.[8] At Light Work, Lavalette oversees the organization's Artist-in-Residence Program, exhibitions, and publication of Contact Sheet, a photography journal.[9]